The Battle with the Ants (2)

A group of ants were gnawing on a few corpses. There were at least one to two hundred fist-sized ants, densely packed together.

Yang Xiao noticed one particularly large ant in the middle of the ant colony. Its body was over three times the size of a normal mutated ant. Its two antennae were bright red, which was very eye-catching.

The arrival of Yang Xiao and the others immediately attracted the attention of the ants. They suddenly stopped gnawing and turned around, raising their heads to look at Yang Xiao's group of five.

The brave shall prevail!

"Attack!"

Yang Xiao shouted and swung his black sword at the ant colony, slicing dozens of ants in half with a series of crackling sounds.

Chen Fei's lightning bolts and Chen Lu's ice spheres continuously flew out in succession. The ants struck by them were instantly paralyzed and motionless.

With a flick of her long hair, Chubby swept up dozens of frozen ants and smashed them violently into the ground. After two or three consecutive slams, the ants' limbs were broken as they fainted and died.

Dai Yun did not dare to move, standing beside the three girls to protect them and be ready to fend off any pouncing ants.

Wielding his black longsword, Yang Xiao frantically slashed and hacked at the ants, instantly killing several dozen.

With Yang Xiao's current strength, reaction speed, and sensitivity, singly killing dozens of ants was no problem.

However, although the five of them had the advantage, the ants were still numerous. They quickly launched a counterattack.

The over two hundred ants immediately scattered and surrounded the five from different directions. The ant king with bright red antennae flashed and pounced at Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao hurriedly raised his sword to block. With a loud clang, a tremendous shockwave traveled from the black sword into his arm.

Wow, this ant king is so strong!

The ant king was deflected by Yang Xiao's sword and instantly dived into the ground, disappearing into the thick fog.

With the ants dispersed, the five of them began to struggle.

Chen Fei and Chen Lu's lightning and ice attacks could not cover a wide area. They could only pick off ants one by one, but whenever they killed some on the left, more attacked from the right.

Although Dai Yun's mutated wolf claws were sharp, she could only take down one or two at a time.

Yang Xiao was also powerless against the scattered ants' assault.

The four of them had their thick denim jeans bitten through in several places by the ants. Yang Xiao's thigh was bitten, and it immediately swelled into a large lump.

In this crisis, Chubby's long hair proved useful. Whipping her four-meter hair wildly, she may not kill ants but could fling them dozens of meters away.

After persisting for five minutes, Yang Xiao was bitten again, along with Chen Fei, Chen Lu, and Dai Yun.

"Boss, we can't hold out much longer. What should we do?"

"Retreat. Chen Lu and Chen Fei fall back first. Chubby and I will cover your rear then retreat immediately."

"Got it!"

Chen Fei and Chen Lu retreated along the path they came. Dai Yun followed closely to protect them. Yang Xiao and Chubby brought up the rear, resisting the ants' frenzied attack while steadily falling back.

However, these ants feared nothing, endlessly throwing themselves forward to replace their dead. Their continuous advance was incredibly valiant.

The five had penetrated only about thirty meters into the fog, but quickly retreated to its edge.

Watching Yang Xiao's bedraggled withdrawal, the over a thousand people on the playground didn't know what was happening but felt extremely anxious.

Soon they saw the black mass of fist-sized creatures chasing after Yang Xiao and the others.

Seeing this, Huang Wen and the other girls hurriedly snatched up steel pipes and rushed from the crowd to rescue their boss.

Yang Xiao shouted when he saw them, "Don't come out, don't come out, stay back!"

But Huang Wen refused to listen, storming out with over a dozen girls.

However, before Huang Wen could close half the fifty-meter distance to the Gene Store, Yang Xiao and the others had already rushed back in.

The ants seemed somewhat afraid of the orange glow emitted by the lamp on the Gene Store roof. They immediately halted their chase and gathered at the edge of the area, squeaking and hesitating.

Seeing this, Yang Xiao was delighted. He turned to Chen Fei and the others. "Good opportunity. Let's rush in and fight hard for a while! Retreat immediately if it gets too dangerous!"

After speaking, he charged into the ant swarm, his black sword slashing and hacking, instantly killing over ten ants.

Chen Fei, Chen Lu, Dai Yun, and Chubby promptly joined the battle. Even Huang Wen and the girls took up steel pipes to bash the mutated ants.

Having seen Yang Xiao kill over ten ants with one strike, Huang Wen thought it would be easy. But actually clashing, she found smashing ants with the pipe was like striking metal lumps, not killing them and only numbing her arms.

The other onlooking survivors, terrified by the mutated creatures, didn't dare attack and only watched from afar.

Xiao Zhe, Xu Hua, and the others observed the battle unfolding between Yang Xiao and the ants.

"Xiao Zhe, should we join the fight?"

"Don't rush in yet. Let's see how things go after they fight. It's not wise to battle blindly. There are many mutated creatures concealed in this fog. We need to understand the situation first. Recklessness will lead to death."

And so, with over a thousand people spectating, Yang Xiao led the thirty-some girls in a duel with the mutated ants.

Yang Xiao, Chen Lu, Chen Fei, Dai Yun, and Chubby repeatedly charged into the ant masses to battle, then hastily retreated within fifty meters of the Gene Store when endangered.

Huang Wen's group could only stand at the edge of the fifty-meter boundary, steel pipes in hand, watching for chances to strike the mutated ants.

After several skirmishes, dozens of mutated ant corpses lay on the ground. But the hundred remaining grew increasingly enraged at Yang Xiao's group hiding in the Gene Store beyond their reach.

Finally, when Yang Xiao and his team again took shelter inside the Gene Store's fifty-meter safe zone, the incensed ants lost all caution and charged in.

"F*ck! Fall back quick!"

At Yang Xiao's shout, they immediately retreated. Huang Wen's crew also rapidly pulled back. Seeing the mutated creatures breach the Gene Store's fifty-meter perimeter, the other spectators were filled with terror and fled like a tidal wave.

Sizzle...

With a soft hiss, the dozen mutated ants at the forefront entering the orange glow abruptly emitted green smoke and instantly crumbled to ash. Three crystalline round shards remained, those were the genetic fragments.

Seeing this, the other ants instantly turned and fled.

Witnessing this scene, everyone now believed Gu Bo's words. The Gene Store was under special protection. These mutated creatures simply could not enter. The orange glow instantly killed any that tried.

With the threat gone, everyone relaxed and closed in to watch again.

Delighted, Yang Xiao led another charge. His black sword swept out, slaying another few dozen ants.

This time though, the ants had no heart for battle. They swiftly sped into the distant fog and vanished.

Yang Xiao did not give chase. Surveying the genetic fragments and ant carcasses scattered on the ground, he said to Huang Wen, "Clean up the battlefield immediately, gather all the ant corpses and genetic fragments."

Chubby and the rest rushed forward, collecting everything in moments.

"Alright, let's head back to camp and rest up."